Greater Noida: At the fourth Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show (UPITS), held at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal spoke about the state’s industrial and business progress. He said that investments in expressways, airports, industrial parks, defence, semiconductors and electronics reflect how much the state is changing. He urged entrepreneurs to make the most of India’s free trade agreements, take local products to global markets, and keep raising quality and innovation.
Goyal said Uttar Pradesh has begun a new chapter of development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s guidance. A positive outlook, confident entrepreneurs and a commitment to growth have become the state’s new identity, he said, and its progress is now being noticed well beyond India’s borders.
He was the chief guest at a special business session on the third day of the show, titled “Leveraging India’s Free Trade Agreements for Global Business Growth.” He noted that the event, which began around the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, would only grow bigger and more influential in the years ahead, and that the world would look at UP’s journey as an example.
Local brands are making their mark worldwide
Goyal pointed to the fast-growing robotics factory near Noida as proof that UP is building a strong presence in modern, emerging sectors. The next stage of the state’s growth, he said, is tied to international trade, exports, foreign investment and tourism, and UP’s local brands and products are already gaining recognition in global markets.
He said the goal of taking the state’s exports to ₹5 lakh crore by 2030 reflects its growing confidence and economic strength. Better coordination between the Centre and the state is opening up new opportunities, and he asked people in trade and industry to recognise them and push the state’s growth story forward with full energy.
Recalling the mood before 2017
Sharing his own experience from 2017, Goyal said people were worried about law and order and the business climate in UP at the time. Entrepreneurs lacked confidence, and there was little enthusiasm for setting up big new industries in the state. Even India’s major industrial centres did not look to UP for investment, and international investment seemed even more distant. He said corruption and law-and-order problems had left ordinary people and the business community feeling disheartened, that large-scale migration was a common topic, and that UP was seen as a backward state. In that atmosphere, he said, it was hard to imagine investment in robotics, defence corridors or semiconductors.
A manifesto built from public suggestions
Goyal recalled how the BJP’s manifesto for the 2017 assembly elections was prepared. Party workers went village to village and door to door to gather suggestions from people, and youth, women and different sections of society shared their hopes and expectations. Those inputs were compiled into the manifesto.
He said the aspirations were very broad and would need a great deal of money to fulfil. The state’s budget was limited and its finances were under strain. After salaries and other regular obligations, little was left for development, yet meeting public expectations was estimated to need a large additional sum every year.
Honest, transparent governance has boosted revenue
Goyal said that under Prime Minister Modi’s blessings and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, UP has made notable progress not just in development but in revenue collection too. He said government policies and better administration have multiplied revenue from various sources, and the money is being used for development work. As an example, he said excise revenue is now roughly five times what it was in 2016-17. The gains, he added, are not limited to one area: the land is the same, but revenue from land transfers, registration fees and stamp duty has changed dramatically.
On mining, he said the state earned about ₹1,548 crore in 2016-17 from sand, morang, stone and other minerals, and that this has since grown many times over. He said this shift shows better systems and more effective use of resources, and that the impact is visible in the state’s development. With stronger revenue, the government has more to spend on roads, expressways, airports, industrial growth and public welfare. Where the state once faced financial pressure and revenue deficits, he said, it can now present a surplus budget, which also helps avoid loading unnecessary debt onto current and future generations.
UPITS: a big step toward global market access
Goyal said the UP International Trade Show is more than a trade fair. It is an important platform for connecting the state’s trade and industry with the global market, giving entrepreneurs new chances to reach world markets and benefit from India’s free trade agreements. He said these agreements are opening many markets to Indian products, and that UP’s entrepreneurs can use them to carry their products, services and local specialities abroad. UP, he said, is emerging as a leading investment destination.
Better industrial policies and an investor-friendly climate are drawing big companies to the state, he said. Investors and business delegations from many sectors keep visiting, creating new investment and jobs, and the state’s young people are building the skills industry needs. With international-level events regularly held in UP, entrepreneurs get a direct line to global markets. He asked them to raise quality, innovation and competitiveness to match global demand, and said that with so many markets now open through FTAs, UP’s talented entrepreneurs should make full use of them.
Also present were state MSME Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary, Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, MSME Minister of State Hansraj Vishwakarma, MSME Principal Secretary Shashi Bhushan Lal Sushil, Industry Commissioner K. Vijayendra Pandian and MSME Special Secretary Shishir.
India’s changing trade policy has opened global markets for UP’s entrepreneurs: Bhupendra Chaudhary
State MSME Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary said India’s shifting trade policy has opened new global opportunities for UP’s entrepreneurs and MSME sector. He said the free trade agreements India has signed with various countries could benefit textiles, leather, engineering goods, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and One District One Product (ODOP) items. Speaking at the session on leveraging FTAs, he said UP’s traditional products have the potential to strengthen their place in the world market, among them Moradabad brass, Bhadohi carpets, Aligarh locks and Kannauj perfume.
He said the state’s large MSME base, modern infrastructure, better connectivity, and the growth of e-economic export hubs and logistics facilities are helping exporters reach new markets. He urged entrepreneurs and exporters to take advantage of the openings created by India’s trade agreements, saying that with quality, innovation and competitiveness, UP’s local products can be connected to global markets and carried forward from “local to global.”
UPITS is a picture of a new UP in a new India: Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi
Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi said UPITS reflects a new Uttar Pradesh in a new India, and has become an effective platform linking the state’s local strengths, artisans’ skills and entrepreneurs’ talent with global opportunities. He said UP’s trade and industry have gained fresh momentum under Prime Minister Modi’s guidance and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership. UPITS began in 2023 and has now reached its fourth edition, and the participation of foreign buyers, exhibitors and several countries shows the state’s growing global trade reach.
He said UPITS is giving products from ODOP, handicrafts, agriculture and food processing, textiles, leather, electronics and other sectors a chance to reach global markets. India’s trade agreements and FTAs with various countries have created new openings for exporters, which UP’s entrepreneurs can use. The state’s strengths, he said, include more than one crore MSMEs, better connectivity, strong infrastructure and a talented young workforce. Participation from countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Russia, Austria and Belarus shows UPITS’s global reach, and he said UP is moving ahead to play a strong role in the journey toward a developed India by connecting local products with the world.
